Speakers

The debate is being moved by Lord Forsyth of Drumlean and Baroness Williams of Trafford responds on behalf of the Government.

A full list of Members of the House of Lords who are due to speak in the debate can be viewed in the Speakers' Lists.

Key recommendations

The Brexit and the Labour Market report recommends the Government should:

Use information relating to the economic activity of immigrants – such as paying tax or receiving benefits – to gain a clearer understanding of how long migrants stay in the UK.

Explore how information from exit checks, which have been reintroduced, can be combined with other information. This should help to address the unreliability of the International Passenger Survey (IPS).

Devise a better way of accounting for the departure of international students. The current approach cannot calculate, with any precision, how many students stay at the end of their degree.

Other findings and recommendations from the report include:

Using a strict annual numerical target risks causing disruption to businesses and the economy. Reducing net migration is likely to be best achieved by a flexible approach which can adapt to the needs of businesses and the labour market.

An implementation period when EU workers can be employed easily is particularly important for sectors with a high turnover of staff, such as social care and nursing.

The Government should no longer include students in any short-term net migration figures for public policy purposes.